There are five Seán Keating illustrations and works by Yeats and Henry in a Whyte’s sale

THE Playboy of the Western Worldis, arguably, Ireland's greatest drama. Since John Millington Synge's play was first staged at the Abbey Theatre, in 1907, it has captivated the national imagination, enthralled audiences and enriched the language. London publisher George Allen and Unwin commissioned Irish artist Seán Keating to paint 10 illustrations for its edition of the text, published in 1927.

Five of these wonderful original oil paintings are coming up for sale at Whyte’s art auction in Dublin on Monday, May 30th. The pictures, to be sold individually, will go on public view from next Saturday at the RDS. The artist himself makes an appearance in three of the paintings (as Old Mahon, Christy Mahon’s father); and he’s entirely nude in one – the only such example within Keating’s work.

Of the five, variously estimated between €15,000-€40,000, the best-known is the painting of the father and son fighting, which was used as the frontispiece illustration in the book and featured on a commemorative 55 cent stamp issued by An Post for the centenary of the death of Synge, on March 24, 2009.

The paintings by Paul Henry on the wall of An Taoiseach's office seen during this week's visit by Queen Elizabeth should strengthen interest in the artist's West of Ireland Landscape, 1925-35(€60,000-€80,000).

A collection of paint boxes, palettes, brushes, palette knives and paper ephemera owned by the artist Jack B Yeats, found in the Dalkey home of his late niece, Anne Yeats, has an estimate of €20,000-€30,000.

Other highlights include two early watercolours by Jack B Yeats: Only Two in It,1905, depicts two speeding horses and jockeys (€25,000-€30,000) and Knocknarea, c 1906 which shows men standing by a wall near Rosses Point with the small promontory, Horse Island, beyond (€8,000-€10,000).

And there’s yet another footnote to the story of second World War German envoy to Ireland, Dr Eduard Hempel. A portrait of his two-year-old son Berthold wearing traditional German dress, by artist Patrick Hennessy in 1939, has an estimate of €2,000-€3,000. The boy died in Dublin in 1948. A portrait of his sister Liv sold at Whyte’s earlier this year for €4,800.

* Whyte’s Irish Art, RDS Clyde Rooms, Ballsbridge, D4. Monday May 30th, 6pm.